ConsciousnessAwareness of the external world and internal states

NeckerCube

A

More Illusions

B

Mueller-Lyer Illusion

Going Up or Down?

Is this possible?

Consciousness & Reality

• Is it possible to expand our consciousness?

• What gets in the way of greater awareness?

• What would it mean if we could experience “Unity Consciousness?”

UnityConsciousness

• Open, receptive consciousness• Here and now focus• Eternity = Now• Acknowledges the

interconnectedness of all things

“Words Will Never Hurt Me”

• Boundaries in consciousness define our reality

• These boundaries are learned• Words and their definitions create

boundaries

Ken Wilber

Psych 30A:Consciousness Studies

Examine the Spectrum of Consciousness

How Consciousness Works

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle- Many realities exist simultaneously until the act of observation “selects” the reality then experienced- Our focus selects the reality we perceive, and other “realities” fade

Double-slit Experiment - waves versus particles

http://www.whatthebleep.com/download/

10

How the Past Affects the Present

• How we define our past, or our definitions of our experiences– Leads to continued reactions to

experience – Can lead to missing new ways of

responding – Strengthens the neural nets– Keeps us locked into habitual ways of

behaving

How Consciousness Works

• Emotions as addictions– Neural Nets

• Neurons that fire together, wire together• Hormones, neurotransmitters released in a

specific chemical cocktail

- Becoming the observer of our emotionsBreaks the neural connections

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Tapping on acupuncture points to break disconnect the

emotions from the stimuli12

Constructed RealityBoeree

• “The perceiver does not construct reality itself; rather the perceiver constructs an understanding of reality.”

• Social reality is constructed by our culture– Common cultural traditions

• We use words to construct our interpretation of reality– The constructs can take on a life of their own

Memes

• Meme (as opposed to gene) that is “inherited” in a society (Boeree).

• Cultural beliefs that are passed onto the next generation– “Celibacy is to be valued”– “Obey your elders”– “This is how you do it”

Constructing Our RealityWords as symbols

– Language creates “boundaries” to our consciousness

– Definitions of our words create the reality we construct

– We use words to describe which create boundaries through dichotomous thinking

• Up/down; in/out; me/not me (you)• Creates preferences• Creates separation that is an illusion

“The map is not the territory”

What The Bleep Do We Know?!?!?!?

What is Reality?Do we create our own

reality?

Hope

O Holy Night (song)

Transpersonal

• Instruments of measurement not yet discovered can impede our knowledge

• Designing appropriate research design protocols to measure the effectiveness of subtle energy changes need to be reconsidered (acupuncture effectiveness)

• Kirlian photography measures energy signature or corona discharge– High voltage field interacting with an object

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Near Death ExperiencesNear Death Experiences• An altered state of

consciousness reported by 30% of those who have been pronounced clinically dead and have been resuscitated

• Experience an OBE, tunnel, bells, white light, peace, greeted by dead loved ones

Lucid Dreaming StephenLaBerge Stanford University

Click on his image

Am I awake?

Charles Tart

UC DavisProfessor Emeritus

Leading ESP Researcher

Institute of Transpersonal

PsychologyPalo Alto, California

Zener ESP cardsUsed aboard Apollo 13 by Edgar Mitchell

Star Gate, the project that for nearly a quarter of a century trained soldiers and civilian spies in extra-sensory perception (ESP). Their objective: To search out the secrets of America's cold war enemies using a skill called "remote viewing." Paul H. Smith, a U.S. Army Major, was one of these viewers. Assigned to the remote viewing unit in 1983 at a pivotal time in its history, Smith served for the rest of the decade, witnessing and taking part in many of the seminal national-security crises of the twentieth century.

Paul Smith, retired Army IntelligenceOfficer and Desert Storm veteran. Spent 7 years in the Dept. of Defense’s Remote Viewing program, serving asoperational remote viewer, theory instructor And trainer, security officer and unit historian.

Remote Viewing

Body

Mind

Spirit

LSD-25

Stan Grof1931 –

California Institute ofIntegral Psychology or

Workshops

2006

2008

Co-founder of Transpersonal Psychology

Michael Talbot

Psych 30C: Advanced Consciousness Studies

Holographic “negative”

Alex Grey Artist

Alex Grey - Artist

The Universe Within Our Cells

Sleep and Dreams ResearchSleep and Dreams Research

EOG electrooculogram

Electromyogram

Electroencephalogram

Sleep Stages (brain waves)Sleep Stages (brain waves)

K-Complex

3%

50%

10%

15%

22%Sawtooth pattern

Percent ofTime while asleep

Stages of SleepStages of Sleep

• Beta Waves – alert• Alpha Waves – relaxed, awake• Stage 1: amplitude drops, frequency slows• Stage 2: sleep spindles & K-Complex• Stage 3: beginning of delta wave activity• Stage 4: delta waves predominate; deep sleep• REM: Rapid eye movement (paradoxical sleep)

5-35

EEG Recordings During Sleep

REM or Rapid Eye Movement Sleep

• 90 minute cycles until REM begins• Increased heart rate, rising blood pressure• Faster irregular breathing• Twitches in face/fingerss• Penile engorgement• Vaginal lubrication• 20% REM adults• 50% REM newborns

Typical Nightly Sleep Typical Nightly Sleep StagesStages

Hours of sleep

Minutesof Stage 4 and REM

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 80

10

15

20

25

5

Decreasing Stage 4

Increasing REM

Sleep and DreamsSleep and Dreams

• REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Sleep – recurring sleep stage – vivid dreams commonly occur– also known as paradoxical sleep

• muscles are generally relaxed, but other body systems are active

• REM Rebound– tendency for REM sleep increases following

REM sleep deprivation

Sleep DisordersSleep Disorders

• Insomnia– recurring problems in falling or staying

asleep• Narcolepsy

– uncontrollable sleep attacks– sufferer may lapse directly into REM sleep,

often at inopportune times– Triggered by emotional events, excitement

Sleep DisordersSleep Disorders

• Sleep Apnea– characterized by temporary cessations of

breathing during sleep and consequent momentary reawakenings

• Night Terrors– high arousal-appearance of being terrified– usually in Stage 4, within 2-3 hours of falling

asleep